Apparatus for extracting terpenes and rosin.



PATENTED OCT. 9, 1906.

G. A. KERR. APPARATUS FOR EXTRACTING TERPENES AND ROBIN.

APPLIOATION TILED SEPT. 28, 1905- 1 W K J. .6 w pm PATENT OFFICE.

. UNITED sTArns GEORGE A. KERR, or LYNCHBURG, VIRGINIA.

APPARATUS FOR EXTRACTING TERPENES AND ROSIN.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed September 28, 1906. Serial No- 280,486.

Patented Oct. 9, 1906.

To all whom it may concern.- Be it known that I, GEORGE A. KERR, of

Lynchburg, in the county of Campbell and provide a machine having means wherebythe extraction of" terpenes and rosin from rosin-bearingwoods may be effected during the single assage of wood through the still, the wood being continuously fed in at one point and continuously discharged at another. A further object is to enable the terpenes to be quickly and effectively extracted in a single and continuous passage thereof through the still.

According to my invention the chips or slivers of pine or other rosin-bearing wood'are fed into one end of a still throughwhich they are caused to travel, steam being supplied to only so much of the wood as it can liberate of terpenes, the wood bein constantly subjeoted to a fresh supply 0 steam. The wood freed of the terpenes passes into an extractor containing an alkaline solution which is kept at such temperature that the wood when discharged by a conveyer from the extractor will be freed from all rosin, which is taken up by the alkaline bath, the latter flowing off through a suitable outlet.

The invention will be hereinafter fully set forth, and particularly pointed out in the claims. I

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a vertical longitudinal sectional view. Fig. 2 is a transverse sectional view on line 2 2,

Fig. 1.

Referring to the drawings, 1 designates the receiving-conveyer, which is shown in the form of an endless screw 2, inclosed by a circular still-casing 3. The conveyer-shaft 4 is hollow and designed to receive atone end steam from an engine or boiler, exhauststeam being preferable. Between the several convolutions of the conveyer, save those directly beneath the charging-hopper 5, the shaft 4 is equipped with outletorts 6, through which the steam escapes to t e wood confined between such convolutions. The shaft also carries radiallyvextended arms 7,

planes, so as to agitate or cascade the chips as they are forced forward by the conveyer, and

thus insure their being fully acted upon by the steam. Mounted longitudinally above the casing 3 is a receiving-chamber 8, connected with the former by a series of pipes 9, so that the steam charged with terpenes passing from the still-casing 3 will enter receiving-chamber 8, whence it passes to a condenser. (Not shown.) By omitting the outlet-ports fromthe shaft at the receiving end ofthe still no steam is liable to escape through the ho per. The wood as it travels through the sti l is constantly subjected to a fresh supply of steam, and the ter one-laden steam passes directly off instead 0 having to travel through an extended amount of Wood. This is due to the fact that the convolutions of the screw conveyer divide the wood into equal helical portions, and the steam admitted to the spaces defined b the several convolutions contacts with o y so much wood as it can free, in part at least, of terpenes.

10 deslgnates a second screw conveyer,

preferably below and parallelwith the first-" mentioned conveyer, its casing 12 being connected with the casing 3 by a cohduit 13, so,

that the wood as it is discharged from casing 3 will fall into casing 12. This secondconveyer is constructed similarly to that before described; but the casing wherein it is located is preferably of U shape in cross-section, as shown in Fig. 2. Within this casing is an alkaline bath through which the wood freed of the terpenes is forced to travel. This alkaline bath and the wood are kept at the proper temperature by the steam fed thereto through the conveyer-shaft, which latter has escape-ports 14 formed therein throu hout its length.- The-casing 12 at its disc arge end has a trough or chamber 15, the bottom of which is beneath the bottom of the casing, and from this trough extends an outlet-pipe 16, which is located as near the axial center of the conveyer as possible, so as to always maintain the bath at a suflicient depth within the conveyer-casing. The rosin-containing solution flows ofi through the pipe 16,

from the ho per-being constant.

taken up by the constantly-rotated screw as it escapes into the spaces defined by the several convolutions will act uniformly upon all of the wood. The steam thus carrying off the te enes will immediately escape through the pipes 9 into the delivery chamher 8, and as the wood proceeds on its travel through the casing it is continuously agitated and constantly subjected to a fresh supply of-steam, with the result that as it reaches the discharge end of the still-casing it will be entirely freed of the T'ter enes. There'upon the wood falls through con uit 13 into the casin of the rosin-eftractonthrough which it will e caused to travel by the endless conveyer being agitated by the radial arms, as in the turpentine-extracting still. The alkaline-bathwithin the rosin-extractor, as well as the wood, is kept at proper temperature by the steam escaping through the tubular shaft of the conveyer. By the time the wood reaches the discharge end of the extractor all the rosin thereof will havebeen taken up b the alkaline bath, and the latter will flow 0 through the outlet 16, while the Y wood is conveyed away by the conveyer 17.

I claim as my in've'ntion 1. An apparatus of thecharacter herein described, comprising a still or digester, means for extracting terpenes from the wood while in such still, an extractor for receiving the wood from said still, and means for extracting the rosin from the wood while in such extractor.

2. An apparatus of the character herein described, comprising a still or digester,

means for extracting terpenes from the wood while in such still, an extractor for receiving the wood from the still, and means for supplying steam to said extractor, which latter is constructed to maintain a rosin-extracting bath therein.

-3. An apparatus of the character herein described consisting) of a still or digester into' which the wood to e treated is continuously introduced at one point and discharged at another, means for continuously conveying the wood between such points, means for sup-. plying steam to the stil an extractor for receiving the wood as it is discharged by the still, means for supplying steam to said extractor, and means in the latter for convey- 'ing the wood therethrough, said extractor belng constructed to maintain a rosin-extracting bath therein.

4. An apparatus of the characterherein described consistin of a still or digester into which the wood to he treated is continuously introduced at one point and discharged at another, means for continuously conveying the wood through and agitating it in said still, means for supplying steam to the latter, an extractor receiving the discharge from the still, means in said extractor for conveying the wood therethrough, and means for supplying steam to said extractor, the latter bemg constructed to maintain a rosin-extracting bath therein.

5. An apparatus of the character herein described consistin of. a still or digester into which the wood to he treated is continuously introduced at one point and discharged at another, means for continuously conveyin the wood through and agitating it'in sai still, means for continuously su plying steam at or about the axis of said, stil an extractor receiving the discharge from the still, means in said extractor forconveyin the wood therethrough, and means for supp ying steam at or about the axis of the extractor, said extractor being constructed to maintain a rosin-extracting bath therein.

6; An apparatus of the character herein described consistin of a still ordigester into .which the Wood to etreated is continuously introduced atone end and discharged at the other, means for continuously conveyin the wood through such still, means for su p ying steam to different points of the stil at or about the axial center thereof, means for allowing of the escape of the terpenes-laden steam at different points of the still, an extractor receiving the discharge from the still, means in said extractor for conveyin the wood therethrough, and means for supp ying steam to said extractor, the latter being constructed to contain a rosin-extracting bath therein. I

7.. The herein-described apparatus comprising a still into which the Wood to be treated is introduced into one end and discharged at the other, a terpenes-receiving chamber located above said still and connected thereto at diflerent points, an endless conveyer within said still having a hollow shaft formed with openin s, steam being introduced through such s aft and escaping through said connections to said chamber, an extractor, a conduit for conducting the discharge from the still to said extractor, said extractor being designed to contain a a rosin-extracting bath, an endless conveyer within said extractor having a hollow shaft formed with openings for the escape of steam supplied through said shaft, a trough at the discharge end of the extractor, a conveyer therein, and an outlet for the rosin-extracting bath. I v

n testimony whereof I have signed this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses;

GEORGE A. KERR.

Witnesses:

LLOYD R. CRAIGHILL, E. R. MCCARTHY. 

